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Topic: Selling Collections (Read 7164 times)

All this talk is definitely swaying my thoughts more and more about unloading all my Prequel army builders and possibly eliminating the PT stuff altogether. Especially before the ROTS stuff starts popping up. I hate to do it, but the nostalgia just isnt there compared to the OT stuff.

So how does this continual buying of "Stuff" happen, you think we all some slight for of OCD or is it not realizing the immensity of the beast or is it just looking for a pastime?

For me it is a genetic thing, no doubt about it. I have always collected stuff. Matchbooks, bottle caps, beer labels, pins. So very much crap have I owned. This is quite simply the latest incarnation and there's no telling where it will go next.

I love the mini adrenaline rush of finding something new. I love the hunt, finding a better deal on the net. I love the challenge of setting a price and bettering it. I'm getting a great blue snag from Dale at a very nice price, I still watch every auction though, just in case I can get a better deal

Star Wars is where I'll stop, I think, with respect to action figures. Much of the other stuff is about to come out of bins and go onto selling, as I said earlier today.

I dont regret selling stuff from my collection. Unfortunately, I think a lot of my early collection came more from a desire to be "the cool kid on the block" so to speak, to have some sort of collection that people would marvel at. I've sense finally come to the realization that was the dumbest reason to ever collect ANYTHING. I got rid of all the stuff I didn't passionately wish to remain in my collection. I sold a few things that I didnt absolutely WANT to sell (like my Star Wars Kubrick collection), but came from a need to get some money. I still dont regret selling my Kubricks, cuz I know they're going to a good guy that will be able to enjoy many of the pieces. I've still got a room full of "junk", miscellaneous Star Wars stuff that has just piled up over the years, and I probably wont be able to get rid of it. We're having a garage sale, and Im planning on doing my best to get rid of it. Anyone wants to drive out to Indiana, you're welcome to the remains of my unwanted collection, about a half room of stuff lol

I've also shifted interests. I'm still very much a Star Wars fan, well, a fan of the original unscathed trilogy. Each passing day I grow to dislike the PT more and more, and some of the new SuperSpecialEdition trilogy junk just yanks my crank. The only PT stuff I collect anymore are the props, just because they've got an aesthetic appeal that goes beyond the movies. I'm also turning more towards prop replica collecting in general. I guess you could say I've got a double major in Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, with minors in Gremlins, Freddy vs Jason, Sleep Hollow (next year), Pirates of the Caribbean (next year), Red Dragon, Harry Potter (soon) and possibly Alien(s)... lol

Thankfully, I've been able to almost break even by selling my stuff, but am having to sell more, and go into deeper credit card debt. To me, I'd rather have the debt now, than regret missing out on a piece I could have got my mitts on. Compared to my school debt though, it's chicken scratch anyway lol If a solution arises and I'm able to get my backpay from work, I could pay off all my debt in one fell swoop. I will never let myself get in that bind again.

I have collected so much stuff when I was a kid. I still have the stuff in storage boxes. Toys, action figures, models kits etc. I really got into it in the late 70's. Heck, I'm 43 & still have stuff back at my parents place!

I have a real passion for magic, not the game but magic tricks, illusions that can entertain people. 6 months after the magic shop open here, I went down one Saturday & was hooked. Tricks, books, videos don't come cheap. Every time a new trick came out, I had to have it. I had an extensive collection of stuff. I sold 95% of my magic collection on eBay & I don't regret it one bit.

I even sold off model kits & other toys from time to time just to feed this habit of SW. Still do.

Sometimes it's hard to let go of a collection but the decisions are right. In time they will go, all of it.

I've been seriously considering selling 3-4 lines worth of old stuff that I have. It would probably be my GI Joe, Transformers, Spuer Powers and Secret Wars stuff. Thing is, I don't know how to go about doing it. I abhor ePay, and I'd like to sell to someone serious who is also a collector AND is willing to pay a fair price. It stinks.

looks like a lot of us are in the same boat. i pretty much stopped collecting just about everything besides star wars a while back, and have been thinking about (but dreading) getting rid of the stuff i don't want to collect any longer.

i hate to go to ebay, because you always have people who don't pay, or take forever to pay. not to mention the pain in the ass that it is to actually list stuff.

take the simpsons for example. i have the first 7 waves. should i break them up to sell individually? or by wave? or just sell them all as a lot? i'd probably get the most return on my money if i sell them individually for like $4 a pop. i'm sure some would go up from there, and those that don't would (hopefully) be covered by the gains from the ones that did. of course, listing 40+ action figures, 1 at a time, is a pain in the ass. sell them by waves? might sell a few, but i'm sure they wouldn't all sell. and sell them as one big lot? i'm sure it would sell, but i'd lose a ton of money.

case in point: i just sold a lot of tiny kingdom figures, which were some little ceramic figurines available in the disney store a while back for like $6 a pop. i had a lot of 21 figures in total, which cost me about $125 when i bought them. instead of breaking the figures up and selling them in small lots or individual, i sold them as one big lot. big mistake. my auction ended at $17. talk about a big loss.

so, i have several collections that i really don't want, have no space to store, and don't want to sell... wtf am i gonna do with them??

It has really been nice reading everyone's comments on this, again...great topic Scott. Its been surprising how many of us seem to feel the same way about collections, or at least think about it from time to time. I guess I'm fortunate enough that I never really got into any other lines really big outside of Star Wars, so it hasn't been a big financial thing, but at the same time what I do have takes up space/money..and time to go and find it, so it really does make you consider what is important to you.

I think sometimes I even look at my Star Wars collection and see certain items/figures and think "did I really need this?". I try to be more selective in my buying now, and kind of wish I had always been that way. Although I like my collection, it does at time seem overwhelming. I think that is why sometimes I get pretty psyched about "subsets" like the VOTC, because I think "well, its only 12 figures or so, and I could display them on one shelf by themselves and it will look nice". I guess I'm the type of person that doesn't want my collections overwhelming the room/space they are in, and starting to look jumbled or messy. But, while I say that, I still like collecting most of the basic line (especially OT stuff), and I'm always ready for more figures too...so I can't complain too much.

Anyways, it has been interesting to see everyone's thoughts and opinions on this topic so far. I'm kind of glad to see that many of the rest of you have at least thought about it at one time or another.

That's partly why I stopped amassing a huge figure collection, I prefer the small subsets, and by only collecting those, it allows me to get two each, and also get display cases for the carded figures, which ends up looking a lot nicer than have a wall full of hardware pages with 50 lines of figures 6 deep each. So now I only collect cartoon figures, silver figures (glad this line is finally ending), holiday figures, convention figures, holiday figures and VOTC figures. Which I LOVE! Hopefully I can build a nice vintage style display, with figures, the movie style poster, and the new cases.

Sad day has arrived. I've advertised most of my goalies in the Winnipeg thread over at the spawn board. Give the local guys a shot, if they want it, without shipping. I am being a bit of a bastard though and not giving them away. Used the price guide and only went a couple of dollars under. If they all sell, which they may in time, either on the board or on ebay, I should generate about $800 US. Going to create a huge hole in my office at work though.

It's for the best though. Get some money back, free up some space. Besides, the stuff is getting frightfully repetetive.

It is depressing, I know my wife would be happy to see some stuff go and I don't really think I'd miss it too much, its the regret of money gone and the fact that I still sort of miss the toys I had as a kid

That being said, I'm an adult and it would be different if I was thinking of selling off my vintage MOTU, M.A.S.K. and SW stuff. The modern stuff is just a bunch of stuff I went loony over and I shouldn't feel bad of dumping it

That being said, I'm an adult and it would be different if I was thinking of selling off my vintage MOTU, M.A.S.K. and SW stuff. The modern stuff is just a bunch of stuff I went loony over and I shouldn't feel bad of dumping it

That's a good point Scott, and kind of the way I feel as well. I don't think I'd ever part with my modern Star Wars collection either (at least the majority of the OT stuff), unless I had to for financial reasons or something (although it really isn't worth much I'm sure anyways). I think that is sometimes why I get interested in other modern lines at times too, is because I wish I had more of certain "toys" when I was a kid. I'm kind of in the same boat as you in some ways, my wife isn't crazy about the "other" collections I start/have, and things I spend too much on Star Wars the way it is. I can't say I totally disagree though, I know it gets crazy at times. Good luck Brent on selling your goalies collection, I hope you get what you are looking for out of it. It would be nice to have that money, to put towards Star Wars collectibles, or your house, or whatever.

Thanks Brian. I should spend it on my wife, but we know that will be a rather unlikely event. That's enough money for all four MR FX sabers.

Pathetic really.

I'm actually quite attached to the modern stuff, rather than the vintage stuff. Vinty is cool and I'm pleased to own it now, but I have no long standing love of it like many (most?) here. I started in 95 and I'm still quite attached to some of those He-man figures. Vader for example, his saber, the long version, has long since faded to pink, but I'm not giving him up. He's my very first star wars figure.

Could I offload the PT stuff? Yeah, for the most part. And I certainly didn't need to get into army building. But I see no point in unloading modern stuff. Simply put it's a money losing proposition. When checking ebay generically for SW, I feel pity for the folks hoping to see a big return on their modern stuff as they get out. 50 MOMC figures, Buy It Now $500. Uh, I don't think so.

Nope, Star Wars is the right scale, the right price point and the suitable familiarity and love of a movie for me to continue with the line.

Once I too wanted all Star Wars toys i could get, but now I have incresed it to only collect loose vintage figures and variations. Besides I keep the creatures and a few smaller vehicles.

Playsets and larger vehicles have been sold, oris up for sale. Also the LEGO I got as a "farewell gift" at my former job will be up for sale, the only problem is that some of it will be damn big to send, especially the Star Destroyer.

-Henrik

btw: I have not regretted selling these vehicles, after a month or so i did regret it, but not anymore (exept for a Rancor so I had to by myself a new one).

About four years ago or so I had sold all of my childhood toys except my Star Wars and LEGO. On eBay I had sold my entire Gobot, Transformer and GI Joe collections... thinking it would bring in some extra money so that I could go full steam with my Star Wars collecting habit. To the day, I totally regret selling that stuff.

Now that I have a big house with a huge basement displaying my Star Wars collection, I sit back and sometimes think to myself, "Damn Rhoads, you sure went a little overboard, didn't you?" When my best friend, who also collects Star Wars and has always been impressed with my collection, said one day to me, "Dude, you seriously need some help because you have WAY too much stuff!" I was shocked when he said that to me, but he (and myself) have never seen my ENTIRE collection displayed before. It really is sick. Everyeone that has seen my basement has said there's something wrong with me, that I have a collecting disease.

That made me think that perhaps I should sell off some of my Star Wars collection, at least the stuff that doesn't really interested me anymore. I look at the OTC packaging (which is the shizzle), then I look at the Saga blue carded packaging, and I think of how nuts I was to buy some of those figures (Lott Dodd, every single Yoda, Anakin & Jango Fett that was made). I also think of how crappy those Saga cards look compared to the OTC line, like Hasbro didn't think out that Saga card design all that much. Luckily they spent a lot of time thinking about the OTC packaging.

So, I'm not sure what I intend on doing, but if I ever decide to dump some of this stuff you'll see it in the Classifieds here.

Sales are going well, about 10 goalies heading out the door shortly. Took some time to reorganize the storage stuff tonight and ended up freeing 7 large cardboard boxes. Largely accomplished by looking at all of my modern star wars stuff and going, hmm, open it or toss it. Opening it is, about 70+ packages of single and multipacks. Have a bookcase full of carded stuff to sell off so I guess I'll be advising what the loss effect will be in doing that. A ton of Ep I (hello, $1 figures) and Saga in there to get rid of.

Really kind of annoyed by OTC I started in on a carded Luke/Vader selection and now everything gets put out on better cards. OH well, hopefully I can find a carded completeist out there.

Still 11 - 30 gallon tupperware tubs of toys in the crawlspace though. Always good to have a claustrophobic wife